NOISE!

This evening my neighbor across the street decided to fire up his riding lawn mower, which was odd since A) there's not a single blade of green grass showing in his yard, and B) .....well why the heck do I even need a 'B' with the point I made in 'A'?!?  At first I thought he was simply making sure the mower was running properly just in case his grass decided to grow four inches tomorrow.  But no, not only did he start the engine he proceeded to spend the next half hour driving the machine in circles around his front yard.  Mowing the dust by all appearances.  Apparently he wasn't satisfied with his solid amount of noise pollution, he also made sure to foul the air we breath while he was at it.  So much for throwing open the windows of my house for some fresh spring air.

And that, my readers, is but one of the many reasons I so strongly dislike spring and summer - the noise.  Lawnmowers being tops on my list of "most annoying summer sounds".  Oh sure, winter has its noisy demons in the form of snowblowers, but it can be weeks of wintertime peace between the snowfalls that necessitate the use of a snowblower.  Lawnmowers, on the other hand, are relentless.  All days, all hours, all summer long someone within earshot of my home ("earshot" for lawnmower noise being 14 miles) is mowing his/her lawn.  Drives. Me. Nuts.  So when neighbor man decided today - MAY 2! - to needlessly roar his machine to life I was instantly cursing the summertime gods and their love of noise.

Lawnmowers.  Motorcycles.  Radios.  Dogs.  Trucks.  People......kids screaming, adults yelling, loud conversations, loud laughter.....why must the humans be such noisy lifeforms?  And why must all of their toys and tools be so noisy as well?  I know, I know - one man's noise is another man's symphony.  And yes, noise pollution and town life are synonymous.  Aaaannndddd, the noise of summer makes me even more appreciative of winter's peacefulness.  I'm calming down now.

My biggest gripe towards the cacophony of the summer months?  The way all the human sounds around me drown out the sounds I'd really enjoy hearing.  The birdsong of spring - the quiet coo of the mourning dove, the shrill yelp of the killdeer, the clucking of the robin - never grows tiresome, with those three species but a fraction of the feathered melodies ringing through treetops and backyard bushes each morning and evening.  The gentle burble of moving water, be it a river brushing against its banks or a stream tumbling over rocks.  The whisper of leaves.  The rush of breeze through evergreen needles.  The gentle buzzing of a hummingbird's wings.  So many peaceful, natural sounds are floating around us.......lost in the roars of Harley's, the droning lawnmowers, and the blasting of small thoughts from big mouths.

As I said, the human noise of spring and summer is just one of my strong dislikes of these seasons.  Don't get me started on the heat.  Or the bugs.

Already looking forward to that first frost, the falling leaves, and the stillness of thirty degrees below zero...........